The trial of James Holmes, who killed 12 people and injured 70 others in July 2012, all of whom had gathered to watch The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, has produced arguably its most integral piece of evidence in the pursuit to judge whether he maliciously planned his atrocities, or whether it was simply a psychotic episode. The evidence is a diary entry, which alarmingly makes reference to the final instalment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series.
The horrifying passage from James Holmes, which appears in Time, was part of a particular section of his notebook, which had been sent by Holmes to his University of Colorado psychiatrist, Dr. Lynne Fenton, eight days before he became a mass murderer. It reads:
I was fear incarnate. Love gone, motivation directed to hate and obsessions, which didn’t disappear for whatever reason with the drugs. No consequences, no fear, alone, isolated, no work for distractions, no reason to seek self-actualization. Embraced the hatred, a dark knight rises
Dr. Felton and police only came across the notebook several days after the massacre had been committed by Holmes, who was a doctoral student in neuroscience at the university. Fenton previously informed authorities and officials that she believed Holmes was a danger.
This notebook is regarded as a primary piece of evidence in the trial because prosecutors believe that it proves the 27-year-old knew exactly what he was doing and had planned out his attacks. This could eventually lead to James Holmes getting the death penalty. Meanwhile, defense lawyers will argue that this has no bearing on their assessment that he experienced a psychotic episode on that atrocious night, which they believe should only result in him being sentenced to life in prison.
James Holmes’ notebook which also shows various writing and notes that he’d made regarding alternatives to death and his self-diagnosis.
In his notebook James Holmes makes references to a variety of different ways to kill, which included serial murder, a bombing, and biological warfare. Holmes decides upon a "mass murder spree" because it would result in "maximum causalities, easily performed with firearms, although primitive in nature. No fear of consequences, being caught 99% certain." Meanwhile, Holmes also explained that reason for his murders, writing, "The message is there is no message." The trial began on April 27, 2015 and is set to proceed for the next few weeks.
